2009 Sprint Cup Preview: 21st-25th

Before we get to the moment we have all been waiting for, the first day of the Media Tour brought a lot of news. Here's a quick recap:

-Scott Riggs, and not Dave Blaney as originally expected, will drive Tommy Baldwin Jr.'s No. 36 Toyota. Methinks Riggs is bringing State Water Heaters and/or Hunt Brothers Pizza, his sponsors at Haas last season, to the table.

-Verizon's buyout of Alltel will force them from the side of David Stremme's car and onto Penske's Nationwide machine, where Justin Allgaier will run a full season. I think that kid has a bright future, and he will definitely have great resources to work with.

Verizon will continue to foot the bill for the No. 12 car, but no logos will appear identifying the company, i.e. Marlboro's former sponsorship of Penske's IndyCar teams. I can't wait to hear NASCAR and Sprint's response!

-Tony Stewart will drive a car in the Nationwide season opener for Rick Hendrick. The Car number will be 80, and HendrickCars.com will sponsor.

-Yates Racing has moved the points accumulated by the No. 28 team last season to the No. 96, meaning Bobby Labonte will be locked in through the first five events. Travis Kvapil apparently will still run full-time, and I am sure Yates is doing this just to ensure his fully sponsored cars have guaranteed spots.

Kvapil shouldn't have too much to worry about if he is full-time, unless rain becomes a factor during California, Vegas, Atlanta, or Bristol qualifying.

-Gillett-Evernham Motorsports will now be known as Richard Petty Motorsports, which ironically enough is RPM. Judging by last season, the Dodge boys can use all the RPM they can get.

In other news, it appears as if McDonald's and Valvoline will sponsor the No. 43 car in some shape or another, while I also found a paint scheme of a No. 44 Valvoline car. It seems as if RPM has changed the 10 car's number to 44, and will run the first five races with A.J. Allmendinger before making a decision to continue full-time or not.

A disclaimer before we begin: I know several magazines (such as Athlon Sports), count down the drivers in their predicted order of finish. I have yet to pick any of those publications up this offseason, so my picks will not be influenced in any way. All similarities are purely coincidental.

21. BOBBY LABONTE

Age: 44
Hometown: Corpus Christi, TX
No. 96 Ask.com/Texas Instruments DLP Ford
Crew Chief: Todd Parrott?
Owner: Jeff Moorad/Tom Garfinkel/Doug Yates

Last year, Doug Yates gave birth to a revamped Yates Racing operation. Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland took the first baby steps. And now, Bobby Labonte is being counted on to walk, talk, and run all the way back into the NASCAR elite.

This was a great signing by both owner and driver, as it gives Yates a proven champion to rely on, while Labonte of course was unemployed at this point a week ago.

While sponsorship seems to be the biggest roadblock in Yates' way, there are about 25 other teams who feel as if they can win on any given Sunday.

So don't expect Labonte to go out there and contend for a championship, or even a Chase berth, in 2009. I believe, and I may be alone on this, that Bobby can still be competitive and challenge for victories on a regular basis.

But for the time being, don't expect any miracles out of this operation in the new year. But they will put forth a solid effort and always come home in one piece.


22. BRIAN VICKERS

Age: 25
Hometown: Thomasville, NC
No. 83 Red Bull Toyota
Crew Chief: Ryan Pemberton
Owner: Dietrich Mateschitz

Team Red Bull A came out of the gate strongly in 2008, partially because they didn't want to spend another season qualifying for races on time, and partially because it's expected that a second-year team should improve.

There should be further development from the No. 82 and No. 83 teams in 2009, but a couple of major factors point me to relegating Vickers to outside the top 20 entering the new campaign.

The Thomasville, N.C. native will have to adjust to his third crew chief in three years, and while Ryan Pemberton is certainly capable, Kevin Hamlin and Vickers formed a great working relationship a year ago.

Additionally, the 83 team, after contending for the Chase in late summer, seemed to run out of gas and fell to 19th in the standings. The season is a marathon, and to be a serious contender, they will have to run up front consistently. They seem to have hit the setups at a few tracks, but struggle greatly at others.


23. JOEY LOGANO (rookie)

Age: 18
Hometown: Middletown, CT
No. 20 Home Depot Toyota
Crew Chief: Greg Zippadelli
Owner: Joe Gibbs

Exactly a decade ago, an unknown driver burst onto the Cup scene and immediately became a contender. Now that Tony Stewart has moved on to his own team, an even more celebrated rookie slides into the 20 seat.

Joey Logano has been talked about as being the next superstar of the sport since the time he was 14 or 15 years old. Now that he is in the limelight, how will he handle the expectations?

I would not expect any miracles from Sliced Bread in 2009, although I do like him to beat out Scott Speed for rookie of the year honors. After all, the kid is...well, a kid. 18 year olds with a half year in the Nationwide Series do not immediately succeed in Sprint Cup competition.

If you are looking for a comparison, I expect his rookie season to be more along the lines of Jeff Gordon's (which went terribly) than those of Jimmie Johnson or Stewart. But with an experienced crew and team behind him, Logano will be meeting the immense expectations we all have for him before long.


24. RYAN NEWMAN

Age: 31
Hometown: South Bend, IN
No. 39 US Army (22 races)/TBA Chevy
Crew Chief: Tony Gibson
Owner: Tony Stewart/Gene Haas

Even though he won the Daytona 500 last season, it became obvious that the Rocket Man had run his course at Penske. I guess not having Rusty Wallace to bicker with the past few years was just too much to handle.

When Newman won eight races in his sophomore season of 2003, I think many people believed he would become an annual championship contender. But that never happened. Moving into the GM camp with Tony Stewart's new operation should, in time, give him that opportunity.

Newman fans should not get their hopes too high for this season, however. While Stewart has brought in a long list of talented people to the Haas operation, including crew chief Tony Gibson, this is essentially an entirely new team.

And with the testing ban, Ryan will have limited chances to practice his communication with the crew prior to Speedweeks. As we all know, there is normal driver lingo, and then there is Ryan Newman engineer talk.

This will be an adjustment year for both the 14 and 39 teams, but I expect each to improve immensely as the year moves forward, with a win or two in the forecast.


25. DAVID STREMME

Age: 31
Hometown: South Bend, IN
No. 12 Verizon Dodge
Crew Chief: Roy McCauley
Owner: Roger Penske

I considered several drivers for the last spot in my top 25, such as Robby Gordon, David Reutimann, and Travis Kvapil. But I went with David Stremme. Stremme has a lot to prove in what will be his best opportunity to date.

After two subpar years with Ganassi in '06 and '07, he clearly needs to perform up to task with the 12 team in 2009, because not too many people get third chances in this business.

There will be a wealth of knowledge and strong equipment surrounding him, starting with Daytona 500 winning crew chief Roy McCauley. The 12 team, and Penske Racing South for that matter, is not what it once was.

Losing Ryan Newman hurts, but Stremme can step in and be a solid performer on a week-to-week basis. Don't be surprised if he comes closer to equaling Newman's 17th place finish last year.

At the very least, Stremme should record several top tens, and may have a day or two where he challenges for the victory.